


I'm Going to Teach You (All About Love)

by Draco_sollicitus



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, First Meeting, Fluff, Hedgehog BB8, Kid D-O, Modern AU, Poe POV, Preschool, Unrepentant Fluff, class pet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draco_sollicitus/pseuds/Draco_sollicitus
Summary: Poe Dameron is excited to introduce a new friend to his pre-K class. He's also excited to let Beebee go home with Daniel Ochii, a nervous, new student who could use the confidence boost.But, when a call comes in on Saturday morning after mild disaster strikes, Poe finds himself rushing off to the apartment of Daniel's foster parent ... who happens to be the prettiest woman Poe's ever met.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Rey
Comments: 28
Kudos: 171





	I'm Going to Teach You (All About Love)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aimmyarrowshigh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aimmyarrowshigh/gifts).



> IT'S JUST FLUFF
> 
> written for aimmyarrowshigh after we both squeed over adorable hedgehogs this evening
> 
> (mild cursing even though it's G, but like ... very brief and it's Rey who I insist would curse in every universe)

Fifteen interested faces peer up at Poe from the carpet before him, bright eyes and cowlicked hair sticking every which way after Morning Meeting’s exercises. He sits back in his rocking chair and folds his hands in his lap, smiling as the front half of his class does the same.

“I have a special friend for us today,” Poe says softly. Sun breaks through the clouds outside and the classroom glows with chaotic light, refracting off the mirror mobiles they made last week. 

“Ohhhh!” A few kids titter, and Poe mimics catching a bubble in his mouth - almost the entire class does the same. 

They’re packed in around his feet, all on their assigned letter of the alphabet:

Wedge Wexley is on A, Maureen Connix is on B, William Tico is on C, and so on and so forth, all the way to O where there _should_ be a child sitting, but that particular child is on the corner of the carpet, playing with the cuffs of his too big jeans, round eyes nervous where everyone else’s are curious.

Poe keeps an eye on him as he tries to hype up the rest of his class - within reason - not wanting to over-stimulate him with the announcement. 

Daniel Ochii regards him anxiously right back, his hair somewhat less neatly combed than, say, Carla Erso’s. 

“Now, this special friend is very small,” Poe continues, looking over his shoulder dramatically at the tarp covering a long _something_ behind him, along the wall. The kids look too, and a few gasp and clutch each other in excitement. “And when you’re really small, sometimes it’s tough to be brave when bigger people are standing over you. So, I’m going to ask you to do something - can anyone guess what it is?”

Maureen Connix’s hand shoots in the air, and Poe gestures for her to answer when no one else does the same. 

“Sit still and quiet,” she says in a rush, and Poe nods. Just like her mother, that one. Knows the rules inside and out (although he _definitely_ caught her eating a mud pie once).

“Maureen’s right. Kiss your brain, Maureen.”

Her smile is wider than a sunbeam as she kisses her hand and then presses it to her forehead. 

“Good job!” Wedge whispers to her, and she giggles. 

“You guys have a very important job to sit still and keep your voices low, kinda _like this,_ ” Poe stage whispers. “Because,” he continues, still whispering, and even Daniel leans in to listen, “my friend can actually get sick if he gets stressed out. He’s very brave for someone his size, but I’ll need you to help him be more brave. Can you do that?”

Fourteen heads nod in unison - Daniel nods after a beat of hesitation, fingers fidgeting faster.

“Alright. I’ll get him now, but I’ll sit right back down and try again if it gets too loud!” Poe stands and tiptoes to the tarp, hearing the rattle of a cage. A kid hears it too because he hears a gasp of surprise. 

Poe pulls back the covering to reveal the long, wide cage that he’d spent a month looking for, and in the corner, squeaking to himself, is a tiny, little, white hedgehog with a spot of brown on his face and tummy.

He opens the latch carefully and lifts the hedgehog out; the little creature goes easily, long accustomed to Poe’s handling now. The kids let out little squeals of excitement when they what’s in his hands and he softly shushes them as he sits back down. 

“This is my friend Beebee,” Poe introduces the hedgehog proudly, and he sees Carla pretend to swoon. “He’s going to stay with us in class during the week, and we’re going to learn about him and other _mammals._ Can you guys say mammals?”

“Mammals!” Fourteen voices shout.

“Mammals,” Poe watches Daniel quietly sound out the word. 

He also notices that Daniel is kneeling now, rocking back and forth slightly with his hands twisting in front of him. But, he’s smiling. The kid so rarely smiles -

And, having read the extensive notes in his file (what kinda kid came to pre-K with a file is beyond Poe, who hasn’t seen it in the ten years he’s been doing this), Poe isn’t at all surprised that Daniel doesn’t smile. He’s been through so much in his four, short years and he only transferred in about three weeks ago. Poe hasn’t even met the kid’s foster parents yet, only knows that he’s in foster, and has been diagnosed with an intense form of juvenile PTSD. 

“We’ll be taking turns bringing him home,” Poe announces when he’s sure they’re all listening, and the collective half-shriek (quickly silenced in respect for Beebee) is rewarding in and of itself. “Your parents have already signed a permission form saying whether or not they want you to bring him home - and if you don’t bring him home, don’t worry. You’ll be able to be Head Hedgehog Friend for a _whole week_ if you aren’t taking him home on the weekends.”

“I wanna be Head Hedgehog Friend,” William says, eyes locked onto Beebee.

“Who goes first?” Maureen asks, eyeing the “A” under Wedge. Smart kid. 

Poe smiles and then looks out over the carpet. “I think Daniel should go first, don’t you guys?”

“Oh!” Tim starts to nod quickly. “Yeah!”

“Yeah, yeah yeah!!” Everyone starts to giggle, looking over at Daniel, who looks torn between bolting (thank _god_ for the classroom assistant - they don’t know if Daniel’s a runner yet, but it’ll be good if there’s someone to catch him if he is) and giggling too.

“Do you want to come up and say hi?” Poe asks gently. Someone named _Rachel_ had signed the permission form for Daniel and marked “Guardian” on the form, so he knows it won’t be an unpleasant surprise - and it’ll be good for Daniel’s self esteem. 

Daniel, happily, nods and stands up, fidgeting with the hem of his baggy t-shirt for a second.

“C’mon, Daniel!” William cheers. “Come say hi!”

With a few tentative steps, Daniel brings himself to the front of the carpet, if not right next to Poe. He’s skittish even around Poe still, flinching if Poe asks someone to lower their voice across the classroom. So, Poe holds out the hedgehog to Daniel, Beebee snuffling his hand good-naturedly as he’s being extended, and smiles at him. “Do you want to learn how to hold him?

“Y-y-yes-s.” Daniel nods, and no one even cracks a smile at his stutter. He turns bright red anyway, but holds out his hands. “Yes, p-p-please.”

He nods a few times for good measure, and Poe cups Beebee with both hands, holding him as far out as he can without making the little guy upset. Daniel approaches cautiously, and Poe began to explain to everyone:

“Beebee is relaxed right now, so the pointy stuff on his back - quills - they won’t hurt. But if he gets frightened, it can feel a little bit like getting poked with a needle.”

“H-hu-rt?” Daniel says, eyes wide as he draws his hands back towards his chest.

“Not really,” Poe assures him. “No blood. If you cup your hands like this,” he demonstrates with Beebee still in there, “you won’t be near his spines at all. And you don’t have to hold him if you don’t want to.”

“N-n-” Daniel shakes his head and holds his hands out again, moving slowly. Poe lowers Beebee gently into Daniel’s cupped hands, and he turns bright red again, this time grinning from ear to ear as Beebee snuffles at the heel of his palm eagerly.

“See? You’re already friends,” Poe says gently, and Daniel giggles.

It’s a really, really nice sound, and Poe’s own smile broadens to hear it.

“We can take turns holding Beebee throughout the week,” Poe tells everyone, which gets them very excited again. “But for right now - I think we have some Science to do!”

“Science!” Someone shouts. Daniel flinches a little bit, but Beebee, who’s used to being handled from Poe’s constant care, doesn’t seem to mind.

“Let’s put Beebee back,” Poe says to Daniel before addressing the whole class. “Hold tight for one second, okay?”

They go slowly over to the cage, and Poe drags out a stool for Daniel to climb. The kid’s still grinning ear to ear as he lowers Beebee to the soft bedding of the cage, and the hedgehog trundles away to his water as soon as he touches down. Poe locks the cage making sure that Daniel can see what he’s doing, and then turns to his student.

“Great job, buddy,” Poe says, holding out a hand for a high five.

Daniel eyes it for a second and very quickly taps his hand to Poe’s. 

God, it makes him want to cry, what this kid’s been through.

“I’m gonna announce our next station, okay?” Poe says to Daniel, who nods and covers his ears.

Poe clears his throat. “I need science gear ON, people! Report to the lab in the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday! William, take it away!”

The ensuing chaos is as rewarding as it is headache-inducing, but when Poe sees Daniel stick his hand into the goo they’ve made for their “science” project today, his joyful shrieks joining the rest of his classmates’, it is _so_ worth it.

* * *

An unknown number pops up on Poe’s phone on Saturday morning. 

“Poe Dameron speaking,” he says, leaning back a little further into his chair, only half-watching the re-run of Golden Girls on TV.

“Hi. Mr. Dameron?” It’s a woman’s voice, and she sounds - nervous. 

“Yes.” He sits up and puts his feet on the floor. “Is there something wrong? May I ask who’s calling?”

“This is - Rey Kenobi.” She clears her throat a little, and Poe hears sobbing - screaming really, in the background. “Uhm. I’m - I’m Daniel Ochii’s … well, um, he’s - he’s with me.”

 _Rachel Kenobi._ That’s who had signed the permission form. Poe stands up, hearing the screaming in the background. “Is he okay, ma’am?”

“Ma’am,” He swears she mutters, “Um. Yes. He’s fine, but the - the hedgehog.”

Actual grief rips through him. “Did something happen to Beebee?” He asks wildly.

“No, no,” Rey assures him, and he relaxes slightly - maybe the hedgehog quilled Daniel when he didn’t expect it, and Rey wants him out of her house. “Also - yes.”

“How can it be both?” Poe asks, warily this time.

“I, um.” Rey sounds stressed. “I guess Daniel didn’t - didn’t lock the cage all the way -”

“Why weren’t you watching him?” Poe starts to pace, rubbing his neck. “Ah. Sorry, sorry, Just - not great to hear - did he run away?”

_Oh, crap, what if she’d left a door open or a window or has a cat-_

“Not quite,” Rey’s voice is sounding increasingly strained, and Daniel’s crying doesn’t stop. “Hey, hey,” her voice changes suddenly, and Poe hears - well he can hear that she cares because she doesn’t sound cross. “Oh, it’s going to be okay, Mr. Dameron will know what to do, okay, kid?”

“S-s-s-sor-r-r--” 

“Shh,” Rey hums softly for a moment, and Daniel hiccups miserably. “I’m so sorry, but - I can’t find him anywhere. There’s no doors or windows open, so I _know_ he’s in here, but - but-”

“I can come help you look,” Poe suggests. “I mean, I’ll be honest, he’s gotten loose on me a few times. He’s a wild guy.”

“Did you hear that, Danny boy?” Rey says, her voice sweet this time - and noticeably relieved. “Mr. Dameron said Beebee’s done this before.”

“R-r-re-r-e-”

“It’s true,” Poe says, louder this time, hoping that Daniel can hear him. “Don’t worry buddy, I’ll be right there, if - if your … if your, um-”

“Rey,” she supplies and Poe winces. 

“If Rey says it’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay.” She rattles off her address, and Poe types it into Google Maps.

“Be there in fifteen,” he promises before hanging up.

As he drives, he starts to notice the houses, like the small ranch home he lives in, blend to townhouses, to apartments, to slightly less nice apartments.

The neighborhood he ends up in isn’t quite dangerous, but it’s filled with old apartment buildings and some cars on cinderblocks line the street. Poe gets out of his car and locks it, rushing up to the garden style apartment building that matched the address Rey Kenobi had given him.

He knocks on 218, and after his second knock, the door opens, and he sees the chaos inside.

Sofa cushions on the floor, blankets through this way and that, paper bags upended, Daniel still crying, rocking in the corner -

And, right in front of him, a very frazzled, red-faced woman in overalls and a tanktop.

She also happens to be …

 _Oh God, keep it cool_.

“Mr. Dameron?” Rey holds her hand out and shakes his when he extends it, slightly stupefied by both the state of the apartment and her general … everything about her. 

She spins around, barely looking at him at all, and walks in, gesturing for him to follow her. “It’s - a huge mess right now because we’ve been looking for him, and- and we’re really, very sorry, and Daniel, darling Daniel, it’s okay.”

Rey kneels next to him, and he notices she makes no move to touch him, only peers up at him with a sweet smile. “It’ll be okay. We’ll find Beebee together.”

Daniel nods, and Poe walks in, closing the door behind him.

There’s toolboxes lined up at the door, and he sees some metal poking out from on top of the cabinets. A ladder in the corner, and paint splashed oddly on the wall - an artist then, and also - something with tools - 

Oh gosh, she has grease over her eyebrow. He notices when she walks over to him, twisting her hands together. 

“I’m a disaster,” she announces before flushing and putting a hand to her face. “It’s - shit, I mean, it’s a disaster-” Rey claps a hand to her mouth, and he hears, muffled, “I just said shit to-”

“It’s fine,” Poe assures her. “This is going to sound weird, but … can I … um, is there a laundry room, or … or a bedroom maybe we can look at?”

His entire face feels hot, but Rey doesn’t seem to think anything of it.

“No laundry room, not that fancy, but the bedrooms are this way-”

She leads him down a hallway, and opens two doors. 

There’s a child’s room with what look like second hand toys from the mid-century, teddy bears, and truck sheets on the bed that’s low to the ground. The second room is messy with green walls and plants everywhere and a giant pile of -

“Laundry?” Poe asks, nodding at the floor, and Rey turns red again.

“Um. Yes. The laundromat down the block closed, and I’ve been - it’s been getting out of hand, and - shit” She puts her face in her hands. 

“It’s not a problem,” Poe says quickly. “My room looks like this, only - only was the door open when Beebee got out?”

Rey shakes her head miserably. “I have things in here that might not be safe for Daniel, so I - I keep my door closed.”

Now he can see metal twisted into shapes, and what looks like a welder’s mask.

Her arms are very muscular. He sees that too. Poe clears his throat.

“Can I -” He gestures at the pile, and Rey waves her hand in permission.

Poe looks at it for a long moment, considering something, and then, with his foot, kicks over the top of the laundry pile. And then does it again when he sees a wiggle.

“Here we go,” he says, digging his hands under a large sweatshirt and pulling out Beebee, his hands jabbed repeatedly in the process because of the angle. “One, naughty, evil hedgehog.”

“Oh fu- I mean, oh, _Lord,_ you’re my hero,” Rey catches herself, and she also looks close to tears as she calls down the hallway. “Daniel, darling, Mr. Dameron found Beebee.”

Daniel runs around the corner, his Paw Patrol pajamas loose around his ankles and wrists. He half-screams when he sees the hedgehog, and he walks up, hands out and cupped, so Poe can step around Rey and slip the hedgehog in his hands.

“S-s-s-or-ry,” Daniel gets out, stepping back from Poe and ducking his head with a little sob.

“Hey.” Poe kneels and smiles up at both Daniel and Beebee. “Accidents are accidents, and no one should ever be angry at you for an accident. We found him, buddy, and he knows you love him.”

“Y-y-yeah.” Daniel nods, and Rey smiles, walking up and holding out her hand to him. 

“Show me how to put him away?” Rey asks gently, and Daniel puts his hand in hers, the other clutching Beebee to his thin chest. “That way I can make sure we do it right next time.”

Daniel shows Rey the latch on the cage, and she watches very seriously, and then he takes a great, big shuddering breath watching Beebee fall asleep. 

He’s still trembling slightly, and Rey smiles at him again. “Do you want to take a little nap?” She asks softly. “That was a lot of energy, huh?” Daniel nods. “I can bring you some milk if you get in bed.”

“B-b-bye,” Daniel whispers to Poe on his way to his bedroom, and Poe watches Rey watch Daniel walk away, something sad in her eyes.

“Thanks for coming all the way out here,” she says, looking slightly awkward now. “You must think - know - that I’m a horrible mess-”

“You aren’t,” Poe assures her. Rey gives him a quick smile, less genuine than the ones she gives Daniel, and goes to get a glass from the cabinet.

She looks at the bottom of it, clearly deciding whether or not it’s clean, and then opens the fridge.

Poe sees lunch meat and bread and a few things of go-gurt; there’s kid cereal on the counter and a few boxes of treats like applesauce too. 

There isn’t really … any food for an adult, and his heart twinges when he sees Rey lift the small quart of milk from the shelf in the fridge, eyeball it, and pour a small glass of it, which she then cuts with water from the sink.

Her face is red again, but she looks … pained now, as she walks past Poe to Daniel’s bedroom. He’s thinking about letting himself out because she’s clearly waiting for Daniel to drink his milk, but then her soft voices tells him “Sweet dreams,” and she comes back out, mostly closing the door behind her.

“Daniel’s a great kid,” Poe says because he doesn’t know what else to say.

She’s too pretty to get a coherent thought out around, it seems, now that there’s no emergency for him to help with.

“He really is.” Rey shakes her head, something in her face shuttering. “I wish I was better for him.”

“You’re great for him,” Poe says to encourage a smile back to her face. Smiling suits her. “He clearly trusts you, and - and I think we both know that’s not easy.”

Rey nods, and wraps her arms - muscular, sure, but thin like the rest of her - and she looks at the floor when she speaks. 

“I was - in foster, too. Not that long ago. It made me … hard, and a little … angry. And - and when I was just about to age out, a really kind man took me in and adopted me. Said that - that the world had been cruel, but I didn’t have to be, and I’m still - angry, all the time, but - I met Daniel, and … and I knew I could -- help the world not be cruel to him, but …” She looks up at him, and Poe’s pretty sure his heart’s going to beat out of his chest. “I think I’m still messing up in a thousand ways I didn’t even know I could mess up in.”

“That’s … I think that’s normal,” Poe hedges. “I’m not a dad, but - from what my own dad said, and from ... well, from teaching, I think messing up is half the story. It’s what you do with the other half that counts.”

Her face crinkles up into a small, pleased smile, her nose wrinkling adorably as she regards him. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Poe nods and grins, fiddling with his keys in his pockets. “And - if - uh, if Beebee gets out again well - you have my number.”

“I do,” Rey says, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes now. “And - you have mine.”

“I do,” Poe answers, a half-grin on his face. “I really do.”

They both laugh, and it’s a little awkward, but mostly - sweet, and pleasant, and Poe’s stomach curls happily.

“I’ll see you then?” Rey asks as he heads to the door.

“Yeah.” Poe nods and looks at her one last time in the messy living room, her hair falling out of its buns. “Hopefully soon.”

Rey nods and bounces on her heels. “Hope-fully.”

Poe closes the door behind him and bounces a little himself all the way down the stairs. 

When he gets behind the wheel of his car, he flips to his contacts and adds _Rey Kenobi,_ grinning like an idiot the whole time.

The grin only gets worse when a text comes through by the time he’s home:

[Rey Kenobi, 11:30 AM]: _I know what hedgehogs eat for dinner, but what about pre-school teachers?_

Poe types his response quickly: _Anything, but they do insist on paying, at least the first time._

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOU FOR READING


End file.
